[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen
of the Town of Woodbridge 12-13-2006. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Purchase orders shall be subject to strict financial
controls set up and approved by the Finance Director. The following
will be a guide in the execution of such orders.
A.
Signed purchase orders are required in all instances.
(1)
Expenditures from $200 to $1,000: Requisitions approved
by the department head and the Finance Director are required. Quotations,
preferably written, from at least two suppliers, if such suppliers
can readily be located in our general area, must be obtained prior
to placing an order. If it is not possible to obtain quotations, the
requisition must indicate the reason. The quotations obtained must
be noted on the purchase requisition.
(2)
Expenditures from $1,001 to $5,000: Requisitions approved
by the department head and Finance Director are required. The department
is to obtain and submit to the Finance Department written quotations
from at least two suppliers, if possible. If not possible, the department
must state the reason on the purchase requisition.
(3)
Expenditures from $5,001 to $9,999: Requisitions approved
by the department head, Finance Director and First Selectman are required.
The department is to obtain and submit to the Finance Department written
quotations from at least three sources.
(4)
Expenditures $10,000 and over: Formal written bids,
based on written specifications, shall be invited by advertising in
area newspapers and by mailing to a bid list, if one exists, and shall
be received sealed at a specified date, time and place and publicly
opened thereat.
(5)
Any project involving construction, alteration, remodeling,
repair or demolition of any public building by a municipality, estimated
to cost more than $500,000 and which is funded in whole or in part
with state funds, requires compliance with Connecticut General Statutes,
§ 4a-100, concerning prequalification.
B.
Purchase requisitions shall not be split to avoid
these bid requirements.
C.
In general, the lowest responsible, qualified bidder
will be awarded the purchase order, unless it is decided that it is
not in the best interests of the Town to do so. The Town shall have
the ability to withhold awarding a contract to any bidders if it is
not in the best interest of the Town to do so. Consideration shall
be given to price, quality, time delivery, skill, ability, experience,
financial responsibility, terms and other conditions required by the
purchase order and whether the bidder is a Woodbridge-based business
or the business is wholly owned by a Woodbridge resident. For the
purpose of this chapter, a "Woodbridge-based business" shall mean
a business with its principal place of business located within the
Town of Woodbridge. The Town shall have the sole discretion in determining
the weight, if any, to be accorded to each of the previously enumerated
factors.
[Amended 3-3-2011, effective 4-9-2011]
When state bids are available for services or
goods, such may be purchased without additional quotations or bids
from suppliers who have been awarded the state bids, provided any
expenditure exceeding $10,000 shall require approval of the Board
of Selectmen notwithstanding the availability of a state bid.
A.
The following may be excepted from the above bid procedures
if favorable to the Town and approved by the Finance Director, department
head, and the First Selectman:
(1)
Professional, consulting and specialty services;
(2)
Specialty items, including without limitation those
where only one reasonable or qualified source can be identified, or
situations where only one vendor or provider is manufacturer-authorized
or -certified or where parts are available only through a single distributorship,
or where there is a special source, including but not limited to a
sale, purchasing plan, government discount or trade-in allowance;
(3)
Repetitive services;
(4)
Emergencies;
(5)
Where prices of goods or services are federal or state
regulated; and
(6)
Other noncompetitive categories.
B.
A purchase order is required for all of these exceptions
to the bid and quotation requirements. The Finance Director and the
First Selectman shall report at least annually to the Board of Selectmen
regarding any purchases excepted from the above bid procedures and
the basis for each exception.
C.
EMERGENCIES
PROFESSIONAL, CONSULTING AND SPECIALTY SERVICES
To clarify the meaning of exceptions to these bid
requirements, the words below as used herein shall have the meaning
stated:
Circumstances existing requiring the purchase of goods or
services which, if not purchased or ordered immediately, can result
in injury or damage to human life or property, inefficient use of
personnel or cause disruption in Town operations. This shall include
all goods or services needed on an emergency basis to comply with
federal, state or local public health, safety or housing codes and
emergency repair of Town-owned property, buildings, infrastructure,
equipment and vehicles.
The furnishing of judgment, expertise, design, advice or
effort by persons other than Town employees, not involving the delivery
of a specific end product defined by bid specifications. This shall
include consulting, professional, legal, financial, personal and technical
services. Examples include, but are not limited to, architects, auditors,
attorneys, physicians, real estate appraisers, actuaries, engineers,
computer programmers, professional construction managers, and systems
designers. Special services shall also include repair services for
Town-owned property, equipment and vehicles where the nature of the
repair cannot be defined in advance by bid specifications and the
professional expertise of the service provider is more important than
the lowest cost.